Web of Velvet and Steel

Vincenzo Caligari

Description:

Bio:

“Theus, grant me the power to change the things I can, the strength to dominate the men I control, and the wisdom to live forever.”

Vincenzo Caligari is the current Merchant Prince of the Caligari family, a position he has held as long as anyone can remember. The Caligari family has long coveted Syrneth artifacts as a means to defeat the Villanova family, but Vincenzo has taken this fascination to new heights. He is well known as a great collector of Syrneth artifacts, and may in fact be the foremost expert on the subject in all the world.

For more than 60 years he has searched for anything that might aid his family’s quest to destroy to Villanova. He shows little interest in the ruins or their history; everything he acquires is analyzed and studied to determine its strengths and utility. Those that he finds useful are exploited, those that he doesn’t find useful are sold or destroyed.

Destroying the Villanova is only one of Vincenzo’s goals. He has ruled his family with an Iron Fist ever since he came of age, and he decided long ago that the power should be his forever. He has never bowed to any enemy, no matter how powerful, he he sees no reason to do so to Death. His researches into Syrneth artifacts had lead him to believe that the Syrneth understood and possessed the secret of immortality, and he has sworn he will tear the secret from the remains of their civilization.

In pursuit of that goal he has recently come across a potential breakthrough. He believed he had discovered the lost mansion of the infamous Donatello Vestini, a scholar of the 15th century, and noted collector of Syrneth artifacts. Due to the fact that he was currently involved in delicate trade negotiations with the Vestini family he couldn’t allow himself to be linked to the plundering of the mansion, should it ever be discovered. His network of informants had discovered enough information about a number of individuals across the world that allowed him leverage enough to force them to undertake an expedition on his behalf. He hopes that their diverse backgrounds and nationalities will help to mask his hands from the Vesitini. The one vulnerable point of his plan is his inability to fully trust his expedition team. He cannot risk their holding something important back from his attention, and so he has been forced to risk a tangible link to his plot.

He planned to send his Grandson, Alfredo, along as the Captain of their voyage, with the added responsibility of making certain everything the expedition discovered was submitted for his examination. Unfortunately, Alfredo, and the members of the expedition seemed to take an instant dislike of one another, requiring the Prince to intervene to prevent a duel to the death between Alfredo and the Vodacce Blacksmith, Orfeo Alberti. In order to allow the expedition to get underway as soon as possible he acquiesced to a request from the Montaigne Swordswoman, Elise Dupont, and sent his granddaughter Bianca along as Alfredo’s replacement.